A shared approach to developing Oracy across Primary and Secondary schools in areas considered challenging.

Research

The Central RSA Trust is based in the West Midlands. We identified the need to develop Oracy as a major strategy going forward. We saw it as ‘low hanging fruit’ in helping secure a significant part of our social justice agenda. My job was to offer support and, where possible, guidance. This doesn’t make me any sort of authority on Oracy!

Ownership 

Our starting point was to build on work which had been done by others including Voice 21, a fantastic project coming out of School 21 in Newham. We took their model and adapted it for the communities we served. 

Implementation 

It’s difficult for staff when they perceive encouraging children to talk in class as losing control. This was the first barrier to overcome. It’s a real barrier and not to be sniffed at. Our early meetings spent time sharing ideas for wrapping round learning activities with purposeful talk. More to come.